Greece’s Deputy Health Minister Katerina Papacosta has written to 11-year-old Jay Beatty from Northern Ireland, an ardent fan of Greek soccer player Giorgos Samaras (pictured with Jay), to thank him for raising awareness about Down Syndrome in Greece.

Jay was invited to attend Greece’s second-round World Cup game against Costa Rica by the Hellenic Football Federation after a video of him celebrating Samaras’s vital goal against Ivory Coast in the group stages went viral.

Papacosta said Jay had raised the flag “against the stigma and the marginalization” suffered by children who are different.

“Thank you for helping me promote in my country the change of attitudes and reduce the stigma against children, teenagers and adults like you,” Papacosta wrote in her letter.